Where the Next Solo Founders Will Win: Reddit as R&D, niche AI tools, and digital products that still sell
In this edition:
[INSIGHT] Reddit is the new R&D Lab
[TREND] Marketplaces are dying
[PRODUCT] What sells in 2025
[HUSTLE] Automate local review replies
[STRATEGY] Build your blue ocean
THE NOTE
How a Toy Company Created a Blue Ocean
This week I was rereading the story of LEGO. In 1999 the company was close to collapse—competition was cheaper, kids were shifting to screens, and the brand had lost its edge. Instead of fighting in the same red ocean of toys, LEGO reframed the game: it stopped selling bricks and started selling imagination. By merging play, storytelling, and education, it built a world competitors couldn’t copy.
That story reminded me what a Blue Ocean Strategy really is. You don’t win by outpacing rivals, you win by changing the rules of what customers value. In a world where AI can clone any feature in weeks, differentiation now comes from reframing the problem, not reinventing the product.
For solo founders, the next “blue ocean” might not be a new idea—it’s a familiar problem seen from a new angle. You don’t need to swim faster. You just need to switch oceans.
THE UPDATE
[INSIGHT] Reddit is the new R&D Lab
Startup ideas aren’t born in pitch decks—they’re buried in Reddit threads. Subreddits like r/smallbusiness and r/freelance are now where founders spot raw, unsolved pain. Instead of surveys, builders use comment mining to identify recurring frustrations. The best examples: tools like Monica (an AI personal CRM) and Readwise both started as responses to recurring Reddit discussions. The pattern: problems first, solutions later.
[TREND] Marketplaces are dying
The age of horizontal platforms is ending. As CB Insights reports, marketplace funding has dropped by over 50% since 2022, while niche AI tools—focused on one job—are exploding. Think of Perplexity, Glasp, or Lex.page: single-purpose, ultra-sharp tools. Instead of aggregating supply, they automate expertise. For solo founders, the opportunity isn’t “build a platform”, it’s build the best workflow for one specific user.
[PRODUCT] What sells in 2025
Even with AI saturation, people still pay for three things: speed, clarity, and control. Digital products that save founders time (like Notion templates or Airtable automations) continue to sell well on Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy. Data from Gumroad’s 2025 creator report shows template bundles and automation guides up 34% year-over-year. The next wave of indie revenue comes from operational leverage, not creativity.
[HUSTLE] Automate local review replies
Local businesses drown in Google and Yelp reviews. Automating responses is a simple, recurring AI side hustle. Tools like ChatGPT Actions and Zapier AI Agents can generate branded replies in seconds, with clients paying $100–300/month for ongoing management. The opportunity lies in systemizing a small pain—not inventing something new. The value is consistency: reviews answered = visibility retained.
[STRATEGY] Build your blue ocean
The fastest-growing solopreneurs aren’t building new markets, they’re reframing existing ones. A designer who turns “brand strategy” into “AI identity design”. A coach who narrows “productivity” into “neurodivergent work systems”. Each shift carves a unique position. As Harvard Business Review originally wrote: “Value innovation is not about technology. It’s about moving the customer’s attention.” Founders who learn to rename the game will own it.